West M J, Slomianka L, Gundersen H J
Stereological Research Laboratory, University Institute of Pathology, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
Anat Rec. 1991 Dec;231(4):482-97. doi: 10.1002/ar.1092310411.
A stereological method for obtaining estimates of the total number of neurons in five major subdivisions of the rat hippocampus is described. The new method, the optical fractionator, combines two recent developments in stereology: a three-dimensional probe for counting neuronal nuclei, the optical disector, and a systematic uniform sampling scheme, the fractionator. The optical disector results in unbiased estimates of neuron number, i.e., estimates that are free of assumptions about neuron size and shape, are unaffected by lost caps and overprojection, and approach the true number of neurons in an unlimited manner as the number of samples is increased. The fractionator involves sampling a known fraction of a structural component. In the case of neuron number, a zero dimensional quantity, it provides estimates that are unaffected by shrinkage before, during, and after processing of the tissue. Because the fractionator involves systematic sampling, it also results in highly efficient estimates. Typically only 100-200 neurons must be counted in an animal to obtain a precision that is compatible with experimental studies. The methodology is compared with those used in earlier works involving estimates of neuron number in the rat hippocampus and a number of new stereological methods that have particular relevance to the quantitative study of the structure of the nervous system are briefly described in an appendix.
本文描述了一种用于估计大鼠海马体五个主要亚区神经元总数的体视学方法。这种新方法——光学分数法，结合了体视学领域的两项最新进展：一种用于计数神经元细胞核的三维探针——光学分选器，以及一种系统均匀抽样方案——分数法。光学分选器可实现对神经元数量的无偏估计，即该估计不依赖于对神经元大小和形状的假设，不受丢失的帽和过度投影的影响，并且随着样本数量的增加，以无限接近的方式逼近神经元的真实数量。分数法涉及对结构成分的已知部分进行抽样。对于神经元数量这种零维量，它提供的估计不受组织处理前、处理期间和处理后收缩的影响。由于分数法涉及系统抽样，因此也能得到高效的估计。通常，在一只动物中只需计数100 - 200个神经元，就能获得与实验研究相匹配的精度。将该方法与早期用于估计大鼠海马体神经元数量的方法进行了比较，并在附录中简要描述了一些与神经系统结构定量研究特别相关的新体视学方法。
